'If You Oppose Islamic Law Then Leave,' Egyptians Told By Muslim Party

A leading member of the Islamist group Gamaat Islamiyya, Sheikh Mohamed Mukhtar, known as Kishk of Upper Egypt, warned the opposition to President Morsi will soon be dissolved.

"June 30 will be the end of the insurgency adopted by traitors and members of the dissolved National Democratic Party," Mukhtar said in a statement. "We will not allow you to demolish and destroy the Islamic project. We do not talk on the behalf of a group or a party, but the nation as a whole."
The statements came during a conference held by Gamaat Islamiyya in the courtyard of the Rahman Mosque in the Egyptian city of Minya on Tuesday.
"We will live on dates and water. We will not care if the people of the earth antagonize us. Those people who do not want to implement Islamic Sharia should leave the country," Mukhtar continued.
During the conference, Dr. Essam Derbala, speaker of the Shura Council, discussed the political scene in Egypt and the situation of the group in light of the recent developments witnessed in the country. He claimed that it is not electoral conflict, as the National Salvation Front did not offer any programs or visions, and that the difference is about who should rule the country now.
"Despite our differences with the president, we believe that he represents a part of the Islamic project. He came to power with legitimacy that should be protected," Derbala said.
"There is an international and regional conspiracy against the Islamic project not to succeed or to not be presented to humanity, as its thought its success could undermine the models that they present to their peoples. Thing are getting more serious now that the Islamic project is represented by the Muslim Brotherhood, because of their international influence. If their model succeeds, it will influence other countries that enjoy the existence of the Muslim Brotherhood," Derbala continued.
It is important to mention that Mukhtar was sentenced to seven years in prison over an accusation of involvement in the assassination of Egypt's former President Mohamed Anwar Sadat. He traveled to Britain in the 1990's and returned to Egypt this June.